Active Hearing Protection

Tried a guy at the ranges electronic ear muffs on Saturday. Now I have to have some. They were quite sensitive and I could tell they would be great for hunting with a muzzle brake. Which ones work best?

Are there ones that are smaller or shaped better and don't get in the way as much when shooting?

About a third of my hearing range was gone by the time I was 20 years old. Then I had my eardrums ruptured twice and by the time I was 25 I would guess I had only one third of the normal frequency range left. During the last 25 years I have slowly lost a lot more.

I really enjoy bowhunting by stalking (hate tree stands) and I really enjoy spring turkey hunting. Both of these require very good hearing. I have a lot of trouble calling turkeys because I can hear so little of the actual sound I am making on the box.

I use Walker game ears because they are tunable to frequency which I need and have a mechanical shutoff for loud noises. Using them I can hear a lot better but you loose a lot of directional detection ability. I do not guarantee that the mechanical shutoff works. A second point with hearing enhancement is that it is usually at a volume increase which during the lenght of a hunting day will cause some amount of temporary hearing lose when you are finally done hunting.

You are welcome to try to hunt with them but you may find them to be a handicap for any kind of close range type hunting.

What to use while at the range is a different subject. My comments are only about hunting.

In the begining of hunting season this year I shot the 7mm SAUM with a muzzle brake with no hearing protection on and decided not to do that again. Don't think I will shoot the 7mm RUM with muzzle brake without hearing protection either.

So if I am going to hunt with a muzzle brake I need hearing protection and the electronic ear muffs came to mind.

Guys i don't know what the regulations are like where you are, but if you check out the UK, most stalkers, hunters are using moderators on thier rifles, the situation here in Germany is a little different, moderators are not illegal, but its damn difficult to get a permit, hence ALL the older hunters are ALL deaf or hard of hearing to a point. I'm 37 and my hearing is still pretty good, but i have also lost certain tone levels from 31 years of shooting shotguns and 27 years of shooting rifles. not to mention 10 years in the Army, where although we where issued ear defenders, the actual requirements for "in the field" communications meant that ear defenders where only worn on the ranges. Ive used the electronic ear defenders mentioned here, but i find they are cold in cold weather, and whistle like heck when its windy and are cumbersome, things like the game ear are expensive, as are those reactive things that are custom fitted to your earsnow lets also not forget your dog, many guys stalk with a dog as a companion, where is the dog when you take a shot, almost right under the muzzle if your standing, and not far away to one side if your prone or kneeling, how many deaf gun dogs have you come across? the best way to protect your ears and those of your 4 legged pal is to reduce the noise level at source, and moderate the rifle. If local regulations don't permit that, then your stuck with some form of ear defenders, I found that a flap sided hat, one that folds down at the sides over your ears helps just take the edge of the shot if you can't use anything else, but 2nd to a moderated rifle, the electronic defenders are the next best thing, its down to personal choice then i suppose, look after your hearing, it is so important when hunting. Pete

I´ve tried a Peltor and works fine although my current rifle has no muzzle brake. When i get my new rifle from Pete I will be able to try the reduction capacity over a Holland MB. You can also connect a radio or other comm. devices. Does not come in cheap though.. but my hearing ability is worthless.

The reason suppressors in the UK are available is that if the registration authorities deny a permit for one, you carry on shooting and go deaf, they can be held liable.
Ive seen and used moderated shot guns in the UK. infact i had a bolt action, silenced 410 as a kid, there are several 12 gauges that are fully moderated available today and a bunch of subsonic 12 ga ammo.
Pete

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My family and I welcome you. I started LRH back in 2001 to provide a friendly place where like-minded individuals could share information and ideas to help take their long range shooting and hunting to the next level.